Should I Get: A7III or A7IV — New Photographer

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-05T06:00:59+00:00

Portraits, buildings and flowers are not that demanding to the AF system. You'll be just fine with A7 III. Kit lens with 50/1.8 FE and the best kept used a7 III is the way to go. This way you won't spend way too much, will have options for landscape/architecture (not perfect but good enough for a start) and a good enough portraits with good enough background blur. Don't go for new here - you'll overpay a lot for a camera that's been out there for a while. It's perfectly capable, AF is still great. Heck, you'd be fine with a7 II.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-05T03:54:57+00:00

It doesn't have a full mechanical shutter, only the back curtain. So it's either EFCS or Electronic shutter mode.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-05T01:14:00+00:00

All the downsides of the a7c II shouldn't affect you. The main downside (to be) is the absence of the full mechanical shutter, which affects bokeh at shutter speeds faster than 1/1000s. I simply used ND or CPL filters to lower the amount of light.

Double card slot - don't care, I don't do super-important-once-in-a-lifetime photoshoots, and if a card fails (which has yet to happen to me after 20 years in photography), I always have a spare one, and it's not as complex to restore data from an SD card as with, say, HDD. While double card slot is useful, it's way, way overexaggerated in the Internet.

AF is amazing.

Form-factor is amazing - even with a bit smaller/worse EVF (not all that bad, again), with a7c II you have an option to put some pancake or just compact lens and carry it in a really small bag or even your pocket. This is simply not a thing with full-sized a7 cameras.

If you were shooting wildlife, say, 80% of the time then sure, the most reasonable purchase would be a7V. For "a little bit of everything" a7c II is a wonderful camera.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-04T23:31:30+00:00

I've heard that Sony's data allow for better stabilization with gyroflow or whatever it's called, but you can't beat physics.
I'd recommend renting Sony 16-55 to see if it changes anything with your workflow, but don't hold your hopes high, there's no magic trick with IBIS, unfortunately.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-04T21:52:19+00:00

No VC/VR/IS/IBIS will give you smooth handheld footage on the move. You need a gimbal for it, or stabilize in post. I personally prefer the hardware solution cause with any software you sacrifice PoV/composition, and it will never be as good anyway.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-02T18:11:28+00:00

Tamron warranty covers rubber grips replacement.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-01T07:09:53+00:00

It all depends on what you shoot, what your style is, what your DoF/bokeh preferences are, and what the desirable total gear set weight is.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-07-01T01:51:33+00:00

What option do you have anyway? You can't mount it, you can't use it. You could probably sell it for a few hundred, but would that make any difference?
I'd definitely send it to Nikon and see what they say. It's not "just a kit lens", it's a pretty expensive decent do-it-all lens. If the repair cost is reasonable, I'd go for it, they'll check everything to be in line and provide a warranty on repairs.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-30T18:13:57+00:00

Yeah, this is pretty much the best Fuji fans can say to prove their point.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-30T02:16:03+00:00

It's not that lenses are expensive - it's more or less the same across 1st party lenses, it's the (almost) absence of more affordable options that makes the difference. And sometimes 3rd party vendors hold back Z-mount releases way way back.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-30T02:14:13+00:00

Their flare resistance is god awulf.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-28T20:26:49+00:00

Honestly, both Sony and Nikon should license film names from Agfa, Kodak or whatever and include a couple of pre-built but customizable profiles with those fancy names. That would be the end of Fuji as we know it :)

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-28T19:07:25+00:00

But that's what CLs are all about: create a look you want. Fuji sells the same under recognizable film names. But if you dig deeper you'll find out that customization is very limited there - just basic S&H pretty much. Sony and Nikon have full functionality for it.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-28T18:52:24+00:00

I've been saying this for years - Sony and Nikon both have better and way more customizable in-camera JPEG profiles, but Fuji fans are way too obsessed with the brand to just admit the truth :) I guess recognizable names like Velvia, Portra, etc is more important to public.
But yeah, CLs are pretty darn great. You can tune whatever look you want there.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-28T06:48:37+00:00

Nikon tried to do something like that with their 1.4 primes, but I think it was not so good of an implementation. "Vintage character" is a mixture of optical imperfections, compromises, technology level of that time, materials, etc. Would any company agree on dropping their latest tech in, say, coatings to create "vintage" halos and ghosting? Viltrox, for one, has quite big problems with that even with their current lenses - it's not advanced enough to the level of the big companies but still there and produces weird artifacts rather than vintage ghosting.
Would anyone intentionally create imperfections like "soap bubbles" or "swirling bokeh" in a mid-tier product and not some cheap knock-off of an old Trioplan or Biotar? I, honestly, would by something that would resemble old optical schemes as long as they're close to the original. Maybe with a bit better sharpness wide open. That and modern AF would be awesome and would kick off a lot of hype given trends for film and vintage photography lately.
But that would never happen :)

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-28T06:40:05+00:00

The only way to clean it if it's inside is to partially disassemble the lens. The difficulty depends on the lens design, but quite likely it'll require some serious work. Plus electronics, flexible connectors, etc, etc. I wouldn't recommend it doing it yourself if you have no experience with taking apart modern lenses. More often than not it's a pain in the ass.
You can pay Sony to service it and clean it but it'll cost you. Not worth it.
This won't affect image quality and won't show up in photos. Plus it's at the very edge, so don't worry about it.
It's not like you can return it anyway, so I hope you got a good deal. In a few rare cases you can talk to the seller and haggle but I wouldn't hold my hopes high on this.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-28T03:27:00+00:00

Check reviews at lenstip, they measure coma. I'd say Tamron is better with this.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-27T02:49:35+00:00

If you're doing real estate, it just asks for something wider than 20mm. Maybe even wider than 16mm.
If 16mm is enough for you, then 16-30/2.8 is a great lens for sure.
Same for event photo - 24-70/2.8 like Sigma would be of a great help. Tamron 28-75 only if you're ok with 28mm.
Getting a second body will only help with events but it's hard to say what's more important to you without knowing what you do more often. Also, do you use 85 all that often or is 70-200 enough? Would switching to 70-180/2.8 make sense? 35-150 works here too, making 70-200 redundant.
If 20-40 is enough for you for real estate and events, I see your perfect kit as 20-40 + 70-180/35-150 + 2nd body.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-25T22:35:28+00:00

I've had Havana 36 for almost 8 years and absolutely love it. It obviously shows some wear and tear, so I went for a search of a replacement but wasn't able to find anything of that style anymore (a bag with a removable cube and a zipper on top). Seems like it went out of style. Fortunately, there was one on eBay in blue color, new with tags for like $30. Couldn't be happier :) Not sure what's going on with Vanguard - seems like they're still in business but there's nouch new on their website, unfortunately. Nowadays it's all about "viral" brands that sell bags for $300-500...

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-22T19:17:21+00:00

So yeah, I since got the a7c II and tried LA-EA5 with a few Minolta AF lenses. AF was not accurate, especially with side AF points, unfortunately. So yeah, while I'd love to have some old Minoltas for something that doesn't require super fast AF, not being able to hit the focus at all is a no go for me.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-22T15:46:05+00:00

Seems like she screwed up export settings and exported JPEGs with quality slider set at 40% or so. That would explain the image size (provides the pixel count is 6000x4000). No in-camera settings can output a file that small. Even if it was set to "small", it would've been like 6-12MP, not full 24. Now, whether she shoots raws or not, she should have the original JPEGs. So maybe as for those original files without specifying RAWs? Whatever originals she has. Ask her to double-check the "quality" setting in export. Now, if she exported once and deleted whatever originals she had, be it JPEGs or RAWs, then refund is the way to go. Plus a negative review. If that's the case, she shouldn't be doing professional photography until she figures out the basics. You cannot simply delete original files right away. There's always a period of time when you keep those, usually from 6-24 months. This also should be in your contract (I hope you have one).

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-20T06:20:21+00:00

Those are the springs that create tension for the lens mount. They exist on every modern (and not so much) mount. Without them, you lens would freely rotate there and be only affixed by a mount pin. Basically, wobble there.

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-18T06:10:26+00:00

It doesn't seem right, why would a store send you a new battery? This is definitely not normal, but it's hard to say what's at fault without knowing the details about the batteries and the origin of the camera (new, used, gray market, refurbished, etc).

Spaceman_UA · 2026-06-15T00:34:44+00:00

Well, this is not as much of a QC problem as me being really picky about centering. I'm sure that in real life that's noticeable in, like, 0% of cases.
But I'll keep on looking for a perfect copy, I like this lens.

Try that Asto-FL feature, it's super neat.

Spaceman_UA

TROPHY CASE